The Global Literature in Libraries Initiative (GLLI) has just announced the winner of its inaugural Translated YA Book Prize, and it’s a work from Japan! The winner is My Brother’s Husband Vols. 1-2 by Gengoroh Tagame, translated from the Japanese by Anne Ishii, published by Pantheon Graphic Library.

The GLLI accolade adds to a long list of kudos for this manga. An Eisner winner, My Brother’s Husband has also been adapted into a three-part TV matinee drama series that aired on NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, in Spring 2018.

Along with the inaugural prize winner, three honor titles were announced. These works, all novels, were translated from French, Spanish (Equatorial Guinea) and Swedish.

Two works from Japan have made the shortlist for the inaugural Global Literature in Libraries Initiative (GLLI) Translated YA Book Prize for 2019.

Ginny Tapley Takemori’s translation of The Secret of the Blue Glass, written by Tomiko Inui, is joined by Anne Ishii’s translation of the first two volumes of My Brother’s Husband, Gengoroh Tagame’s Eisner-clinching four-volume manga series, in the 10-title shortlist.

These two titles happen to share something else in common: families with visitors!

The judges considered books first published in English translation between 2015 and 2018. The full shortlist features translations from Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish.